Heading back early during a training ride one year, my good friend Kevin Metcalfe said, “Better over rested than over trained.” He was tired and wanted to make certain he was sharp for an upcoming race. Looking back, this has remained one of best pieces of advice I have heard in 20+ years of cycling, and I wish I had followed it more often.

We all receive advice from friends, mentors, teammates or coaches which stand the test of time. Bits and pieces of information that may not strike you as something dramatic when first heard, but over time, remain a cornerstone of your cycling knowledge. In this week’s Toolbox, we ask Mike Sayers (Healthnet) and Michael Carter (Marco Polo/UC Davis Cycling Coach) for the most memorable pieces of advice given to them over the years and also what gems they would pass on…

What is the single most valuable piece of advice a coach, mentor, friend or teammate ever gave you during your cycling career?

Mike Sayers – Learn what you are good at and focus on that. Not everyone can climb and not everyone can sprint. You have to be honest with yourself and excel where you can. That does not mean give up or don’t try because everyone can race despite their weaknesses when they are really fit. That being said, if you focus on your strengths during races your results will be that much better. Don’t worry about the things that nature has taken out of your control. This will also save you a lot of heartache and frustration. Race your strengths and train your weaknesses.

The next is never give up in a race until you are 100% positive you are out of it no matter how bad you are suffering. Things can turn around in an instant and I hate throwing away races because I threw the towel in. The strongest guy does not always win the race.

Mike Carter – It is ironic that the best advice I ever received was about focusing on my weaknesses. As a skinny climber, I lacked power. Dale Stetina, who was my very first coach, told me that if I focused on developing more power on the flats that it would translate to better power when climbing. Dale was absolutely right! Not only did my climbing greatly improve, but my TT’s did as well. In fact, I tied for 3rd at the flat Tour of Texas in 1990, only 2 seconds (or something close to that) behind Chris Huber who was a pursuit specialist. The whole race came down to the prologue, a totally flat 7 K TT.

I say it was “ironic,” because you typically hear that you should focus on your strengths – go with what got you there in the first place. In cycling, that is not always the case. I did (and still do to this day) constantly work on refining my climbing technique, and of course, work on my flat power as well.

What would be the single most important piece of training advice you would pass on yourself?

Mike Sayers – The same advice I mentioned previously; because I did not follow it fully, I ended up wasting a lot of time. Now that I am 34, my career is on the downward slope and I wish I had those months or even days back. The other advice I would give is that people have to realize cycling is a sport of time. It takes time to train. It takes time to get fit. It takes time to learn race tactics. It takes time, so be patient.

Mike Carter – I would stress that riders learn to listen to their bodies. Dale Stetina also told me that too. It does no good to try to do quality workouts when you are tired. All that results is that you become even more tired, and that continues to erode the quality of training you are able to do. Not to mention the mental frustration that is surely to develop as a result of not being able to do the workout you want to do. So, when tired – rest. When feeling great, that is THE best opportunity to get the best quality of training.

Summing Up
Let’s summarized what the “Mikes” learned and how it benefited their cycling careers:

• Take a lesson from the stock market – Patience is required in this sport. There will be good days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks. Keep the proper perspective of trusting your plan and focusing on a “trend” of improvement over the long term. Stephen learned the same lessons from Canada’s top Olympians.

I have known both Mikes for a long time. They are incredible athletes and continue to be successful in their own ways. It is very important to point out they both learned and continue to learn from mentors, friends, coaches and teammates. Successful athletes never take for granted the amount of knowledge they possess. They are always looking for methods to improve their fitness and ability to race the bike. Simply put, when they are done learning, they are done with their cycling careers.

Seek out new information that can help you attain a higher level of skill and fitness. Continue to experiment with new ideas, finding ways to be more successful on the bike. To this day, I still pass on Kevin’s “Better over rested than over trained” comment to my athletes. And in case you were wondering, Kevin turned back early because the Northern California district road race championship was that upcoming weekend – he won!

Bruce Hendler created AthletiCamps to provide cycling specific coaching and training to athletes and cyclists of all levels. Find out more at www.AthletiCamps.com